Independent Banker - September 2024 - 53

got your own business here that we're
allowing you to grow. Do the things that
you need to do to grow the business for
us,' " he explains. " We try to give them as
much autonomy as possible to take that
branch and grow it the way they can. "
First Federal's Wilkinson says the
value of being a truly local lender became
apparent when, during the worldwide
COVID pandemic, Louisiana was also
struck by four major natural disasters in
2020. Mortgage customers whose homes
were damaged could conveniently bring
their insurance checks into any First
Federal location and get them co-signed.
" But if they [had a mortgage]
with a bank that's not located in our
community, then they have to maybe
drive to [another market] to get the
endorsement of a bank that's housed
there and not in our market, " Wilkinson
says. " So that hit close to home for a lot
of people to realize that, hey, we're local,
we make local decisions, and if you need
assistance, you can get help locally. "
CONSIDERING
BANK SIZE
When community banks expand
to new markets, they invariably
face competition. Often, the combination of being both a
community bank and relatively large can off er advantages. For
example, larger banks can generally handle larger loans than
smaller banks.
Growth can also allow some community banks to invest
Connecting with local leaders
Once the local staff and structure are
established, an essential next step for
a bank expanding to a new community
is to meet with local businesspeople,
government offi cials and other leaders.
For example, in 2023, when
$2.6 billion-asset Unity Bank opened
" IT'S GOOD BUSINESS TO HELP
THE COMMUNITY, AND WE
GET A LOT OF BUSINESS FROM
OTHER BOARD MEMBERS
THAT OUR EMPLOYEES MEET
SERVING ON [LOCAL] BOARDS. "
-JAMES HUGHES, UNITY BANK
more in technology. That's an area that has helped First Federal
Bank of Louisiana in Lake Charles, La., as it has grown into
new markets.
" We realized that our customers deserve cutting-edge
technology, and we made some major investments in
providing the latest in mobile banking and online banking, "
says Samuel V. Wilkinson, president and CEO of First Federal.
He believes that this has had a significant eff ect on
customers. " We like to think that an easier end-user-friendly
online banking system gives us a little bit of an edge. It's
expensive to do that, but we made the commitment, so if
that's what sets us apart and gives us the edge, we're willing to
make that commitment and stay focused on that. "
Lake Ridge Bank in south central Wisconsin also has invested
in technology to help it thrive in the communities its 18
locations serve.
" With the investments we can make in technology, we really
try to deliver that client experience and make sure we're
continuing to innovate as we go forward, " says Sue Loken,
chief strategy off icer, who adds that artificial intelligence is
one tech area Lake Ridge Bank is tapping.
" We use [AI] for a lot of diff erent things from the business
case standpoint, including for business processes or help desk
functions, data analytics or simple things [such as] creating
policies, " continues Loken. " And that's been a game changer
for us, making sure that we are continuing to invest in AI and
also making sure we have the right partners with it. Having that
scale allows us to go out and invest in diff erent technologies. "
independentbanker.org // 53
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Independent Banker - September 2024

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